highway
Americannoun
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highways
plural
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a main road, especially one between towns or cities.
the highway between Los Angeles and Seattle.
- Synonyms:
- interstate, thruway, freeway, expressway
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any public road or waterway.
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any main or ordinary route, track, or course.
noun
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a public road that all may use
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law a main road, esp one that connects towns or cities
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a main route for any form of transport
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a direct path or course
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of highway
before 900; Middle English heyewei, Old English heiweg. See high, way 1
Compare meaning
How does highway compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A highway is a busy road with many lanes. Highways are usually the quickest route for driving between one city and another. Highways were originally built to connect cities and towns, and since they're wide and have high speed limits, they decreased the travel time. Highways are always considered public land, and they're usually maintained by the individual state. The Old English precursor was heahweg, "main street" or "main way." The word high has often been used to mean "main" or "major," especially when describing a street.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I don’t want to break the sound barrier, but you know, it’s nice when you’re trying to get on the highway quickly,” he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
But more recently, a confluence of factors has made New York's coast less of a highway and more of a stomping ground.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
But as electric cars dropped in price and gained popularity, the highway has more or less been left for dead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
An hour later, she says, the three of them reached a shelter camp on a national highway some distance away from their house in Charing village in Sivasagar district, one of the worst flood-affected districts.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Soon after the scientists were done, a red-and-white armored truck pulled away from the building and got onto the A6 highway leading to Paris.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Niman said he and Schell also wanted to preserve the land from developers and “wealthy people from the Central Valley,” who were moving to the area to build second homes, golf courses and four-lane highways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
"The problem that we've got now is that a parking ticket is not really a deterrent," says Rob Lewis, a senior manager at Cumberland Council's highways department.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Cardiff council added highways and cleaning teams had been working on site to clear roads and remove debris where it was safe to do so.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
It’s so hot in Germany, the AP said, that the concrete on highways is breaking up, and officials urged people to avoid unnecessary train travel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
Though “here” isn’t anywhere yet...just a map of packed concrete highways crisscrossing overhead, curving, making figure eights.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
